Rain Louisiana

A second day of heavy rain Tuesday flooded streets and homes, interrupted bus and streetcar service and closed City Hall. Two children were missing and feared drowned in rain-swollen ditches. Some areas received more than 12 inches of rain over two days. The deluge, which started during the evening rush hour Monday, caught New Orleans by surprise. The downpour abated overnight, then resumed Tuesday morning.

A second day of heavy rain Tuesday flooded streets and homes, interrupted bus and streetcar service and closed City Hall. Two children were missing and feared drowned in rain-swollen ditches. Some areas received more than 12 inches of rain over two days. The deluge, which started during the evening rush hour Monday, caught New Orleans by surprise. The downpour abated overnight, then resumed Tuesday morning.

Winter storms dumped a mixture of snow and rain throughout the Pacific Northwest and into the Rockies on Saturday, while floodwaters rose in the Louisiana bayous and more snow fell in parts of the Midwest. The National Weather Service said that a slow-moving storm dumped up to a foot of snow in the Washington Cascades. Rain fell along the coasts of Washington and Oregon. Winds increased to gale force in parts of the region.

The Northeast braced Saturday for a hard-blowing storm that could bring severe coastal flooding, power outages and more than a foot of snow in some places. As the system blew across the Plains, the unusually violent spring storm rattled Gulf states with thunderstorms, raked Texas with at least two tornadoes and was blamed for five deaths. "I felt my house start shaking like the wind, and I ran in here and grabbed my little girl," said Amanda Rymer, 21, of Haltom City, Texas.

Heavy snow fell Friday in the Southwest and forecasters posted winter storm warnings for the mountains of Arizona. Record cold chilled New England but cloudy skies helped raise the mercury in the frost-bitten Midwest. Rain moved into Texas but did not ease the state's fire danger, caused by a dry spell. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains in north-central Arizona.

Tropical Storm Danny hovered ominously off the Louisiana coast Thursday, where forecasters said it could gather strength and become a hurricane before moving ashore. Its 60-mph winds, still for the most part over the Gulf of Mexico, whipped up high tides at Grand Isle, about 60 miles south of New Orleans, forcing the evacuation of the area's 1,500 residents.

Beryl, the second tropical storm of the hurricane season, raked Florida's Gulf Coast with rain and wind up to 50 m.p.h. Monday as it followed the same path taken by deadly Alberto last month. The storm raised fears of flooding in Georgia, which is still wringing out from Alberto. By early afternoon, heavy rain blew sideways along the beach, with steady downpours inland, and palm trees bent in the wind.

Asked to describe the weaknesses of league rival Morningside, Redondo High girls basketball Coach Tim Ammentorp just shrugged and said: "I just wish they had some." His team is probably the second best in the Pioneer League, but second best to Morningside still translates into 20- to 30-point losses. "I guess the only weakness is that they don't get to play better teams," Ammentorp said. "They don't get pushed. There's no question that they have some of the best players."